Thermo-electric regulator for heating apparatus



(No Model.)

J. A. LAKIN. THERMO ELECTRIC REGULATOR FOR HEATING APPARATUS.

Patented Sept. 2, 1884.

WITNESSES;

ATTORNEY EH5. mnwmhc drwr. Washington. D. c.

UNTTEn STATES EEIcE.

PATENT JAMES A. LAKIN, OF WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 304,330, datedSeptember 2, 1884.

Application filed March 19, 1884.

To aZZ whom, it 71mg concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES A. LAKIN, a citi- 'zen of the United States,residing at WVestfield,

' provements in Thermo-Electric Regulators for Heating Apparatus, ofwhich the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in thermo-electric apparatus foroperating the combustion-controlling devices of furnaces and similarheating apparatus, the object being to provide improved devices forcausing heating apparatus to give out lessheat when the temperature inthe apartment warmed thereby has risen to a certain point, which devicesare capable of being adjusted to permit said apartment to be heated todifferent degrees of temperature before they will operate to reduce theheat therein. 7

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 illustratesportions of a dwelling and heating apparatus having applied theretothermo-electric apparatus constructed according to my invention. Figs.2and3 are detail views. Fig. 4 is a front view of ananeroid-thermometer.

In the drawings, B indicates the cellar of a house, having locatedtherein a furnace, D, adapted by well-known means to warm the apartmentA above. The furnace D is adapted to be operated by thehereinafter-described mechanism for regulating the heat thereof byhaving its smoke-pipe E provided with a pivoted damper, 2, its cold-airpipe F, with ,the damper x, and its ash-box, with the pivoted damper 3Compound levers m of are pivoted at 2 2 at some convenient point nearthe furnace, and.

to each other at 3. Lever on? has a counterbalance-weight, 1-, hung onit. The dampers y, and w are connected with the free end of lever m by acord or cords, w, which pass over the rollers 4, and the damper t isconnected with said lever by the cord 8, which passes over the rollers12.

A clock, 5, and a wheel, 6, substantially such as described in myapplication for Letters Patent of the United States filed February 1,1884, Serial N 0. 119,446, are connected by a cord, 2, which passes overa roller, 5, with lever m.

(No model.)

A thermometer, a, is located in the apartment A, themercury-tube ofwhich, a is provided with a screw-connection, d, at its lower end, and ametallic head, f, at its upper end. Through said head f passes ametallic connection-rod, b, which is adjustable toward and from themercury-column e, and is held in place by a screw, 0.

A battery, h, has one pole thereof connected by a wire, 2', with thehead f on the thermometer a, being secured thereto by the screw 0. Theopposite pole of battery It is connected by a wire, K, with anelectro-magnct, J, and the latter is connected by a wire with theconnection-screw d, which is in contact with the lower end of themercury-column'in the thermometer a. An armature, a, is secured to leveron over the electro-magnet J. Y

The operation of the above-described thermoelectric devices foroperating the dampers of the furnace D is as follows: The drawingsillustrate said dampers in a position to allow the furnace to burnfreely, the dampers being held in this position by their connection withlevers m and of, the weight 1', which is hung on the latter, serving tooverbalance the weight of the dampers slightly.

The connection-rod bin the head f of the thermometer a has its lower endadjoining the mercury-column adjusted to such an indicated degree oftemperature on the thermometer as it is desired the heat of theapartment A shall not exceed. Therefore so long as said degree of heatis not attained the dampers of the furnace remain in the position shown;but when the heat in the apartment A is sufficient to cause themercury'column of the thermometer to rise and come in contact with theconnecting -rod 12 an electric circuit is established through the magnetJ, and the armature n is drawn against the latter, swinging levers mm tothe positions shown by dotted lines on, Fig. 1. Said movement of leversm m causes the damper t in pipe E to be opened, thereby decreasing thedraft of the furnace, and allows the dampers y and 00 to shut, thusmoderating the fire in the furnace and reducing the temperature inapartment A.

If desired, an aneroid-thermometer, H, Fig. 4, may be employed with theabove-described devices in place of thermometer a, by adapting it tothis service as follows: I place upon the metallic front of thethermometer, under the graduation-marks, an insulating-piece of rubber,8, of segmental form, over which the pointer 10 vibrates. A wire, 11, issuitably connected to the thermometer, and a second wire, 12, isconnected with the pointer 10. Holes are pierced through the piece 8 andthe metallic front of the thermometer, coinciding with certaingraduation-marks thereon. A metallic pin, 9, is placed in one of saidholes opposite the temperature-mark 011 the thermometer which indicatesthe greatest heat required in the apartment, and when the pointer 10strikes pin 9 an electric circuit is established through wires 11 and12, (which in Fig. 4t answer to wires t in Fig. 1,) and through theelectro-magnet, causing the levers m and m to be actuated, as abovedescribed. WVhenthe temperature in apartment A falls sufficiently, themercury-column in thermometer a drops away from contact with the bar b,and, opening the circuit through magnet J, so releases levers m and m asto permit them and the furnace-dampers actuated by weight a" to resumethe positions shown in Fig. 1.

If desired, any ordinary switch may be placed on wire t or 2'".

To set the dampers to be operated upon by the clock 5, which operatesindependently of the thermoelectric devices, the pawl 7 on wheel 6 israised out of engagement with the ratchet-teeth, and the clock is woundup, the

pawl being left in said position. The cord z from the clock, which isconnected with the end of lever m, serves to hold the latter inequilibrium between the action of weight 1 and the dampers y :19, sothat when clock5 operates at a given hour, as described in my saidapplication, the levers m m are brought to the position shown by dottedlines in Fig. 1, and the dampers y m are shut.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination, with the dampers ofa heating apparatus, of the compound levers m m and a suitablecounter-weight, an electromagnet and a battery, and the thermometer 0,having the lower end of its mercury-column connected with one pole ofthe battery, and having a metallic head on its mercurytube, connectedalso with said battery, and provided with an adjustable connecting-barextending into said tube, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the dampers of a heating apparatus, of thecompound levers m m and a suitable counter-weight, an electro-magnet, abattery, and the aneroid-thermometer H, provided with aninsulating-segment, a pointer, and an adjustable stop for forming thecircuit, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose setforth.

JAMES A. LAKIN.

Witnesses:

H. H. BOWMAN, J. D. GARFIELD.

